Napowrimo 17

Will I ever get caught up? :-/

At a McDonalds in the Middle of Nowhere, Texas

Welcome to the crossroads of the world –

This place of respite for all travelers

and migrants seeking refuge from the brushland

and the endless, open roads of Texas.

I stumble in with stomach empty, bladder

Overflowing, order some familiar food to eat.

The girl who takes my order’s nails sparkle

Underneath the sheen of the florescent lights.

In the background, country music drones

A worn-out song that makes me want to sleep.  

The manager sashes from register

To register with ease. He calls my number.

I take my food and fade into the backdrop

As I watch the scene of everyman unfold –

A tale as old oak, a rugged man

Walks in and drags the dust of work across

The clean tiled floors. A smile like a firewheel

Blooms on his face. The manager slicks back

His hair and leans into the counter, whispers

To him with a wink. Their giggles boom

Like welcomed thunder just before the rain.

I’ve come to pressure wash your driveway, Carlos.

Aye, go pressure wash tus nalgas, Ed,

Carlos shouts and waves his index finger

in the air as if he’s dancing to a beat

that no one else can hear. Ed shakes his head,

laughs too, then orders a Big Mac, a coke.

Carlos packs the order like a gift

Hands it to him with a tenderness.

An older man walks in. He’s wearing sandals

with a pair of clean white socks. The cashier

asks him, Can I help you, sir? He stares,

then shakes his head. No, darling I’m beyond

any help that you can hope to give.

I’ll have a fish filet. Outside, a roar

Crescendos and then stops. The sound of footsteps

Jingling metal, grunting, then the door

Swings open. I can’t help but stop and stare –

A woman dressed in leather chaps and boots,

A faded pair of blue jeans, a bandana.

Her presence makes the restaurant go silent.

Queen of the brushland and the open road,

She lumbers in, her arms across her chest,

Orders just a diet coke to go.

She takes her giant drink with lots of ice,

Heads back outside and mounts her metal steed

As it roars and then she disappears

into the swirling dust. I finish lunch

and rise, refreshed and satisfied, prepared

to finish the long journey through the state

towards home – the southern tip of this great land

where life and love are always in full bloom.